Connecticut’s casinos post 13th straight month of declining slots revenue

At a time when the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes were looking to expand operations across the state, their respective casinos each recorded a 13th consecutive month of declining slot revenues during July.

The Mashantucket Pequots”™ Foxwoods posted slot revenues of $38 million last month, down  from the $42.8 million level posted in July 2018. The casino”™s handle ”“ the amount slot bettors wagered ”“ was $479.2 million, down from the $534.4 million wagered one year earlier.

The Mohegan tribe”™s Mohegan Sun recorded slot revenues of $46.7 million for July, down from the $55 million level recorded one year earlier. The casino”™s handle for the month was $570.2 million, down  from $664 million in July 2018.

The declining slots revenues comes at a time when the tribes are being challenged with potential expansion across the state. Last week, MGM Resorts filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. Department of the Interior, seeking to void the department”™s approval of amendments that enable the tribes”™ MMCT joint venture to build and operate a commercial casino on nontribal land in East Windsor.

The tribes have also begun seeking a license to open a casino in Bridgeport, where MGM Resorts had proposed creating its own casino resort. Gov. Ned Lamont also sought to encourage the tribes to buy the financially ailing XL Center in Hartford as a new gaming venue, but that offer was rejected.